Prof. Margaret Frey is Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs in the College of Human Ecology, and an Associate Professor and the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the department of Fiber Science & Apparel Design at Cornell University. She is a Faculty Fellow for Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, for the Cornell Institute for Fashion and Fiber Innovation and for Balch Residence Hall at Cornell University.

Research themes Prof. Frey’s laboratory fall under two interconnected umbrellas: rapidly renewable polymers as engineering materials and interfacing fiber science and nanotechnology. The success and the range of the research have resulted from strong collaboration with researchers in both related and dissimilar fields. Combining the tools and capabilities of fiber science with expertise in fields including entomology, horticulture, biological and environmental engineering, materials science, chemical and biomolecular engineering and biomedical engineering has resulted in synergistic leaps in materials research that would not be possible without close collaboration between experts in diverse fields. Several research goals have developed over the past year along the theme of creating functional nano-fibers and nanofiber fabrics for specific end uses. Specific targets include controlling phase separation during fiber formation in electrically charged jets to 'self-assemble' co-axial fibers with different phases at the core and shell. Examples include hydrophobic core with hydrophilic shell, liquid crystal core with polymer shell. Additionally, research continues and spinning capabilities have been upgraded to allow formation of fibers with pH sensing, chemically reactive, conductive or +/- charged capabilities and piezoelectric power generation. Functional nanofibers are incorporated into nano-fiber fabrics, conventional fabrics, lateral flow assay devices or microfluidic devices in specific patterns to create fiber-based devices.

Prof. Frey earned a BS in Chemical Engineering and an MS in Fiber Science from Cornell University. She earned her PhD in Fiber & Polymer Science from NC State University and currently serves on the scientific advisory board for the Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science program in The College of Textiles at NCState.

Teaching and Advising Statement:

On a regular rotation, I have taught FSAD 1350/1360 Fibers, Fabrics and Finishes with laboratory,FSAD 2370 Structural Fabric Design and FSAD 6660 Fiber Formation Theory and Practice. In each class, I have continually developed my teaching methods and strategies to keep up with new developments in the industry and to help students connect the course material to the larger field of textiles and apparel.

Students in the undergraduate courses (FSAD 1350/1360 and FSAD 2370) are overwhelmingly (90%)Fashion Design and Management majors rather than science or engineering oriented students. Thesestudents tend to be visual learners and need coaching to comprehend and process mathematical,chemical and mechanical properties of textiles and fibers.

I initiated addition of the FSAD 1360 laboratory as an accompanying course for FSAD 1350. In thiscourse the students learn basic fiber identification skills using standardized test methods and observeeffects of dyebath additives and mercerization. Since many of my Fashion Design and Managementstudents have negative associations with laboratory courses, this course is purposefully designed to be afriendly and cooperative experience while familiarizing students with the basics of fiber chemistry andAmerican Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) test methods.

In FSAD 1350, connections between the textbook material and ‘real world’ examples of fibers, fabricsand finishes are made in every class meeting, on homework assignments and on exams. Advertising andpopular press articles describing the fibers, yarns, dyeing and finishing techniques used on fashion andperformance garments are used as the basis of discussion on how each of these aspects affectsperformance and aesthetics of finished projects. Relevant industry innovations and trends are alsointroduced. In Fall 2014 prominent innovations and trends include: development of a new flax fiber‘KRailar®’, sustainability efforts including ‘Zero Discharge in Hazardous Chemicals’ and reusing textilescrap materials, and international worker safety issues. Discussing these issues in the context of fibers,fabrics and finishes adds relevance and meaning to students’ experience in the course.

The FSAD 2370 Structural Fabric Design course has been completely revised to a flipped classroommodel in the past 3 years. Students now cover course material using online courseware ‘TextileResources for Cornell’ developed at The College of Textiles, North Carolina State University. Thecourseware includes videos and animations of textile processes and quizzes to monitor understanding ofthe topics. In class, students work in groups to reverse engineer samples from their swatch books andwrite basic fabric specifications. In this course, the students measure and calculate fabric parametersincluding yarn numbers, fabric weight and cover factor. The TA and I circulate among the groups andwork closely with students as they analyze their fabrics. In this way we can correct errors andmisperceptions in real time and insure that all students master the techniques and understand themeanings of the values they calculate. Students also prepare computer drawings of the fabrics usingKaledo Weave software to input the weave structure, thread counts, yarn sizes and yarn colors to createa simulation of the fabric. Additionally, the course uses the Weavebird Dobby loom to provide somehands?on weaving experience. This experience crystallizes student understanding of the weavingprocess and loom functions. The flipped experience extends to the final exam where students areasked to identify approximately 16 different fabric samples and describe how each would be produced.Feedback on this approach has been increasingly positive after the initial bugs were worked out of thesystem.

At the graduate level, I take both the ‘theory’ and ‘practice’ aspects of FSAD 6660 Fiber FormationTheory and Practice quite seriously. Theory is approached in the course starting with polymer chaindynamics and crystallization habits and incorporating fluid dynamics, momentum and energy balancesfor melt spinning, dry spinning, wet spinning and electrospinning systems. The theory is most welldeveloped for melt spinning, and Clemson University has kindly allowed the course to use a version ofthe FiSIM software to run simulations of Nylon, Polyester and Polypropylene spinning processes. For thefirst time, in Spring 2014, the course was able to use the new Hills melt extruder located in our buildingto run a melt spinning experiment. After running an experiment varying the extrusion speed, take?upspeed and spinning temperature, each student ran a different characterization experiment on theresulting samples and the group worked as a whole to analyze changes in the fiber properties as afunction of process conditions. To further understand the practice of fiber formation the class also runsan electrospinning experiment and has a field trip to a monofilament melt extrusion plant. This courseconcludes with critical reading of current literature. Students participate in discussion of paperspublished in peer reviewed journals within 18 months. With one student leading discussion of eachpaper, the class addresses the strengths, weaknesses, interesting results and even writing styles of eachmanuscript. For many students, this is the first experience with both leading a discussion and deepreading of scientific papers.

Outside the classroom, I have been very active in supervising undergraduate research. Twentysix undergraduates from FSAD, Cornell University and other universities have contributed significantly toresearch, presented posters and oral presentations on campus and at regional and national meetingsand been co?authors on peer reviewed papers. Seventeen of these students have continued to graduateschool. Three undergraduate research associates from my group have been awarded NSF graduatefellowships to date.

I have also trained graduate students from Fiber Science and from the former Cornell Masters inteaching program. Supported by an NSF grant, 3 graduate students training to become K?12 scienceteachers worked with my research group to translate my current research to museum displays. Thedisplays were used for hands?on activities at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and the Science Centerin Ithaca. Fiber Science Graduate students trained in my research group have won student papercompetitions from the American Chemical Society Division of Cellulose and Renewable Materials, theFiber Society and the International Non?wovens Technical Conference. Recently, students have takenthe opportunity for industry internships with Invista (spandex) and Universal Fibers and NSF fundedInternational Research Exchange Programs with University of Luxembourg and the Otto von GuerickeUniversity in Magdeburg, DE. These internships and exchanges have had the added benefit ofcementing relationships and resulting in student placements for permanent jobs in the companies andfurther study in Luxembourg. Post?graduation, students have found employment as faculty in the USand China and in industry in the US.

My research in the area of micro and nanofibers has focused on potential uses for high specific surface area materials with tailored surface chemistry. In applications ranging from air and water filtration to lab?on?chip micro chemical analysis systems, I have demonstrated that functional surfaces for capture and isolation of specific compounds can be effectively created using nanofibers. Nanofibers have the unique advantages of high surface to volume ratios, easy handling and compatibility with a wide range of substrates including textiles, plastics, papers and metals. I have made significant contributions in developing nanofibers as functional surfaces and structures for microfluidic systems. Nanofibers invented in my laboratory can perform important functions including sample purification, analyte
concentration and reagent mixing in microfluidic channels. These nanofibers perform better than the generally used structures produced via expensive and slow gold lithography processes which must be performed in a clean room.
Compared to conventional fibers in conventional textile applications, nanofibers have inherent draw backs, including slow production rate, high cost, and poor abrasion resistance. However, in comparison to other high surface/low volume materials typically produced by lithographic methods, nanofibers have huge advantages. These advantages include simplicity of production without requiring a clean room, great material flexibility to create a wide range of surface chemistries and material patterns, and comparatively low cost. In collaboration with colleagues from the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Engineering, I have developed unique fiber solutions for agricultural chemical delivery, microfluidic diagnostic devices and lateral flow assay systems. Based on the needs of specific systems,we have been able to develop a broad array of nanofiber functionalities, including hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces, positively and negatively charged surfaces, chemically active surfaces, and conductive and piezo electric fibers. All of these functionalities have beendemonstrated in model devices.
In my research, micro and nanofibers are produced primarily by electrospinning with a focus on using the process variables to drive final morphology of individual fibers and non?woven membranes. The strong elongational flow field, electrical gradient and thermodynamics of solvent evaporation and polymer phase separation all contribute to production of fibers with fine diameters, high concentration of active components at the fiber surface and membrane structures ranging from random to well aligned. In a one step process utilizing phase separation, functional materials including small molecules, non?fiber forming polymers and proteins are added to nanofibers. By co?dissolution or suspension of
the active material with a fiber forming polymer, nanofibers combining the desired surface chemistry with good mechanical properties and uniform morphology are produced rapidly and reproducibly . Additionally, post spinning methods, including layer?by?layer deposition, covalent bonding and polymerization of a second material via gamma grafting or vapor phase deposition, have been utilized to add additional active properties. Nanofiber membranes have been further incorporated into larger
structures by directly spinning into microfluidic channels or cutting shapes from larger membranes for use in microfluidic channels, lateral flow assay devices, filtration systems or agricultural trials.